What happens when you challenge the status quo of Agile, throw out bloated teams, and supercharge small pods with AI?
In this episode, Jeff Mains sits down with Mac, founder of Wednesday Solutions, to explore the evolution of product development teams. Mac shares why he believes traditional Agile is obsolete and how his company’s “product pods” are delivering massive impact with lean teams.
Dive into real-world strategies on using AI to automate grunt work, focus on real customer value, and deliver faster than ever. Mac and Jeff also discuss over-engineering pitfalls, the essential Sprint Zero, and what’s next for tech leadership in the age of AI.
Key Takeaways
00:00 “Impactful Small Teams”
06:03 AI-Powered Engineering and Vibe Sprints
07:15 “AI-First vs. Human-First Mindset”
10:33 Rural Loan Tech Success
15:28 “Sprint Zero: Focusing on One Problem”
16:50 User-Centric Product Roadmap Creation
20:00 AI: The New Industrial Revolution
25:09 From Doing to Empowering Others
27:18 Embrace Incremental Change
30:47 Thoughtful Hiring in App Development
35:53 “Utilize Managed Services First”
37:15 “CTO: Bridge Across Tech, Product, Business”
Tweetable Quotes
AI-First Mindset: “Are you AI first or are you human first? Do you typically think of how I can do this myself, or do you think about what tools I can use to leverage, what tools I can leverage to actually get this done?” — Mac
Viral Topic: The Dangers of Over-Engineering Early
“don't try to build for scale before you even get your first user. Sort of like not over engineering over there is very important.” — Mac
The Power of Interdisciplinary Collaboration: “So when I think about it, having a product manager with tech experience or engineering experience and sort of bringing the intersection of these two disciplines together is first and foremost, most important.” — Mac
The Art of Delegation: “The question that I keep asking myself at the end of every week is how well would things have gone if I wasn't there for this week? And how well will things go if I'm not there next week, right?” — Mac
Viral Topic: AI and Interview Strategies: “What was possible to build in weeks or months earlier is now possible within a few minutes with a few prompts.”— Mac
The Dangers of Confirmation Bias in Product Development: “And so we build a product and then get to the end. And it's not really what the market was looking for or it was close, but it's off a little bit.” — Jeff Mains
Viral Leadership Secret: “The most successful leaders aren't lone heroes. They're the center of four specific relationships that multiply their impact while preserving their sanity.” — Jeff Mains
SaaS Leadership Lessons
True Velocity Comes from Focus, Not Headcount:
Small teams with well-defined roles and clear ownership far outpace large, fragmented ones.
Delegate Relentlessly:
Great leaders empower others to own outcomes, not just tasks—Mac constantly asks how his absence would impact the team.
Start with the Problem, Not the Solution:
Sprint Zero ensures the product addresses a real, validated user pain—don’t let assumption drive your build.
Embrace Incremental Change:
Don’t fall for the “big-bang” launch myth when modernizing systems; ship value early and often.
Hire for Specialization, Not Generalization:
Early mistakes in hiring generalists slowed quality—now, experts who excel at their craft yield superior results.
Leverage AI as a Force-Multiplier:
The best leaders treat AI as integral to team velocity and product quality, not just an add-on.
Guest Resources
https://www.wednesday.is/
https://linkedin.com/in/mohammed-ali-chherawalla
https://x.com/alichherawalla
Episode Sponsor
Small Fish, Big Pond – https://smallfishbigpond.com/ Use the promo code ‘SaaSFuel’
Champion Leadership Group – https://championleadership.com/
SaaS Fuel Resources
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